Review Fix chats with “Ballast†playwright Georgette Kelly, a part of the F* It Club’s Spring Fling at the IRT Theatre in New York City from April 23 to May 8.
Designed to showcase high-quality, brand-new ten-minute plays, The Spring Fling offers emerging and established playwrights the chance to develop their work with the support of professional directors and designers and a cast of exceptionally talented New York artists.
For more information on the production and the Spring Fling, Click Here.Â
Review Fix: What was the inspiration behind the play?
Georgette Kelly: I wanted to write a play about the experience of the partners of trans folks. And dreaming. And learning how to fly.
Review Fix: Were there any particular challenges during the writing process?
Kelly: There are lots and lots of very short scenes in Ballast, so it was quite a challenge to structure and outline them.
Review Fix: What makes you different from other playwrights?
Kelly: My writing is highly visual and poetic–I want my plays to be a playground for designers and directors to create seemingly impossible worlds.
Review Fix: How do you want this production to affect people?
Kelly: I’d like audience members to think about gender identity and spirituality in new ways. I’d like the play to push them out of their comfort zones and leave them with questions.
Review Fix: Who do you think would enjoy it the most?
Kelly: People who have loved someone during a time of great transition.
Review Fix: Bottom line, why should someone see it?
Kelly: Because it’s a story that hasn’t yet been told in American theatre.
Review Fix: What have you learned about yourself through this production?
Kelly: terraNOVA’s Groundbreakers Playwrights Group has taught me, once again, about the incredible difference it makes to have a supportive community of artist-friends.
Review Fix: What’s next?
Kelly: An excerpt of Ballast will be read at the LMDA conference this June, as part of The Alliance Theatre’s Kendeda programming.
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